How Does Psychoanalysis Differ From Other Mental-Health Therapies?

Here are some characteristics that help differentiate this treatment from other forms of psychotherapy:

Psychoanalysis is not short-term treatment but its results are often lasting with positive effects that are usually realized in the years following the completion of treatment.

Patients often use the couch, which fosters thinking, emotional experience and self-reflection and allows for privacy and connection in equal measure.

It is the power of self-understanding in the context of a facilitating therapeutic relationship that allows psychoanalysis to be effective.

Patients are encouraged to attend frequent sessions during the workweek. This allows for continuity and intensity of focus and is not a measure of the severity of the problem. Psychoanalysts are specifically trained to work in this intensive, dedicated manner in a close partnership with each patient. A wealth of experience and research has confirmed that this is the best way to help patients evolve and change in meaningful ways.